Four Years Ago

Four years ago after practicing architecture for awhile I made a concerted effort to focus more of my free time on the fine arts, with the goal to incorporate it into my life in a more meaningful way.

With always having a creative streak that would surface in various ways in my life it was a fun and easy goal to work toward. I began by taking drawing classes at the Alexandria Art League, first studying with Lisa Semerad, drawing the human figure in charcoal and conte crayon. Then after a few years trying my hand with oil painting, taking classes in figure painting and still life with Ted Reed, Kurt Schwarz, and finally with Danni Dawson(I really admire her as an artist and instructor and I have written about her before).

It has been a wonderful experience incorporating the fine arts into my life, learning to express myself and record my surroundings through sketching, drawing, and painting. This blog has also become a wonderful outlet in building and expressing my love of all forms of art.

As I do not have a painting to share, I thought I would show a preparatory sketch I am working on for a larger scale painting.

Chairs in the Plaza, charcoal on sketch paper.